Liturgy of Being

"Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.” 

-Søren Kierkegaard

The Daily Office is a scheduled cadence of scripture reading, song, and prayer, at different times of the day.  This spiritual practice helps me center each day in the presence of God while engaging all of Scripture.  Breaking up the day like this helps to regulate my pace and stress, as well as to sync the prayers of the church with my biorhythm, as I move through morning prayer, midday prayer, evening prayer, and night prayer.  The structure of this liturgical approach to the day can calm me or inspire new energy.  It makes me feel a part of community as well as centering my self.   As with any rhythm of new habits, the work of this spiritual practice doesn’t have an immediate effect, but eventually the daily actions coalesce into a new state of being. 

As I contemplated an artistic response to the Daily Office, I reluctantly accepted that a self-portrait would be the most honest treatment.  I myself am a work in progress, and I wanted to create a self-portrait that reflects this state of becoming.  Instead of taking the typical approach to a head-shot, where I’m presenting the best version of myself, I tried to show something both more authentic, in my expression, as well as visually portraying myself as incomplete.  I’m learning that as much as I want to be fully formed, my story isn’t yet fully told, and God has much more work to do.   As I contemplate my current state of being, I’m aware that as I get closer to the Lord, I will not just find him, but also find my true self.  

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

 -Psalm 139:14-16

Battle of Shalom

I was on my way to Bible study, and I got a text from a dear friend who struggles with mental illness, asking for prayer. 

Her struggles aren’t new ones.  She was put up for adoption as a baby, in and out of foster homes as a child, on the streets as a teenager, and involved in sex trafficking.  This trauma paired with mental illness is nothing short of debilitating.  Lately, she has been doing so much to be the healthiest version of herself that she can be.  Her strength is astounding: she stopped drinking to mask her pain, she works out to take care of her physical health, and being the praying warrior that she is, she’s constantly giving her anxieties to the Lord.  Yet, she is suffering, her business is suffering, and her marriage is suffering. 

I asked my small group to pray for her even as I was at a loss as to how I could pray for her.  Do I ask the Lord to give her strength to keep fighting?  Do I ask the Lord to heal her mental illness?  Will he?

I’m reminded of a conversation my sons had at the breakfast table this week.  My 5-year-old asked my 9-year-old if prayer works and was told, “God never says no to us…. He either says, ‘No, because I have something better,’ ‘Wait,’ or ‘Yes.’”   I am holding on to this truth for my friend.

The Bible study ended and the women’s director sent us off with the Hebrew word, Shalom, meaning peace. I found some respite in that word.  God was preparing me for what was to come that day, knowing that the battle for peace would be at hand.

My grandfather, my last living biological grandparent, has been in and out of the hospital over the last few months with a heart condition that the doctors can’t seem to do much for because of the severity of it and his age.  I planned to ask his wife, my step-grandmother, if I should come home.  Aware of her insecurities, I knew that my asking could be taken the wrong way, so I prayed and had family and friends praying with me to have the right words to ask. 

I’m currently in between jobs so we have had to cut back on expenses like afterschool childcare and having someone clean our house.  So, the rest of my afternoon was consumed by picking up the kids from school, getting homework done, dinner, etc.  I was feeling pretty anxious because of all that was on my heart for my friends and family, but also knowing there was so much to do to prepare for guests coming in town for the weekend.   I also had so much to do to follow up on job opportunities.  I just didn’t know how I was going to get it all done before the guests arrived on Friday.  In the middle of the afternoon chaos I had an urge to go check the mail.  I opened a letter from a family member with a check.  This letter was about what the Lord was doing in their hearts and how they wanted to bless us with a financial gift, not because “we needed” it, but because “they needed” to give it to us.  Oh, but we did need it.  It’s not the money so to speak that we needed, but the reminder that God is with us, providing, and loving us in all the details.

Shalom.

 

Asher comes home, I shared with him this blessing and with full hearts we gathered around the table with the kids to eat dinner and to share about our day.  Asher started with Presley, asking how his day went.  We were blindsided by his eyes welling up with tears as he proceeded to tell us about how he was put in a choke hold by kid during recess and how he couldn’t breathe or talk.  He feared for his life.  How could someone do this to him?   He is the sweetest and kindest kid.  Our hearts were broken.

It was getting late, and I knew I needed to make that call to my step-grandmother to ask if I should come home.  The call did not go well.  In fact, it went worse than I could have imagined.  My intentions to travel there to help out were misconstrued as me saying my step-grandmother couldn’t do enough.  At one point, my grandfather got on the phone and went off about his family staying out of his business.  My heart was literally aching at this point and the waterworks began. This was all too much.

I hung up and called my grandfather’s only two children, my mom and my aunt.  I shamed, I accused, I vented, and I doubted.  They listened, they loved, they encouraged, and they forgave.  This was a role reversal from how things normally have been.  Normally, I’ve been listening, advising, mediating.  Little did I realize how much I needed them to be strong for me.  They allowed me to be weak and held me up.  The night ended with sweet conversations with both of them where I realized a little that the Lord was doing.  I had been praying that He would heal my grandfather’s heart, and, in the words of my 9-year-old son, the Lord was saying, “No, I have something better.”  The Lord is not just concerned with my grandfather’s heart, but with healing all the hearts of my grandfather’s family, mending relationships, drawing us together.

Shalom.

 

The next day, Thursday, was full of sweet redemption.  My husband had written Presley’s teacher and principal about the bullying incident, and they reached out to us immediately with sincere hearts quickly taking the necessary measures to ensure that Presley did not get bullied again by this kid.  My aunt and mother sent sweet messages throughout the day loving on me. My grandfather and step-grandmother realized they overreacted, asked me for forgiveness and I forgave.  My grandfather was also doing better and was going home from the hospital.  Although it was a hopeful day, my heart was still so heavy. I wanted to be with my grandfather, but was not sure if he really wanted me there.  I know he loves me deeply, but he has been through a lot.  Where is his mind in it all?   Where is my step-grandmother’s mind?  Would my coming home be helpful or just cause more misunderstanding and heartache? 

Because of the financial blessing we received earlier in the week, we decided to have someone clean the house Friday so I can catch up on other duties before our guests arrived.  My dog, Noah, and I had to be out of the house at this time, so I took him to a restaurant that had a dog-friendly porch. Two ladies were sitting nearby and were ooooing and ahhhing over Noah.  We talked a little about him, then I went to work on my computer.  I overheard one of the ladies pray these words, “Lord, I pray for the burdened hearts…”  I thought, “Amen.”  I needed to hear that, and to pray that. 

Shalom.

Noah is super chill and doesn’t ever give me a fuss.  He all of sudden got a little whiney, so I walked him to a grassy area which was on the other side of where these women were sitting.  They stopped me to pet Noah.  The lady said in a very tender voice, “Thank you for letting me pet, Noah.  He’s therapy for me.”  I felt the urge to tell them that I overheard part of the prayer and how that was therapy for me.  I went on to walk Noah. I returned back to my table and the lady had left the prayer she was reading on my computer.

The prayer started with…

“Loving God, I pray for all whose brains have been hurt by disease, injury, stress, trauma, and other factors of human life in a hard world. I pray for all who love them and want to help.”

Whoa.

I had to stop and take a moment.  It was as if this prayer was written for me, for my friend that asked for prayer Wednesday morning, for my family.  God’s plan to reveal himself shows his goodness and his faithfulness to us.  This prayer was an entire page, typed out, full of details that were so relevant to my anxieties, helping me understand how I can best love those around me, even when my intentions aren’t fully seen by them.  When I finished reading it, one of the ladies walked up to my table and sat down.  I explained a little about how much this prayer meant to me.  I shared with her about the light the Lord keeps shining in all the darkness of the events over the last few days.  With tears in her eyes, the lady proceeded to tell me how this letter was written for her niece who suffers from mental illness.  She was grateful for what I shared because she had been struggling with her own faith in it all, and she also needed a reminder of His goodness and faithfulness.  As if the day wasn’t intertwined enough by God’s perfectly woven plan, she also said that her dog had just passed away and that being around Noah was truly a blessing to her!  Her name is Karen.  I will never forget that name, especially since it is also my mom’s name.

“The righteous cry out, the Lord hears and he rescues them from all their afflictions. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.”

                 -Psalm 34:18-20 (also from Karen’s prayer)

Shalom.

The Powers that BE

Mallorca, Spain 2018

I want to share about a woman I know.  She's an angel to me, beautiful and intelligent, inspiring me with her courage and her heart of gold.  She's one of my closest friends, and I recently got to visit her in Mallorca, Spain.  The story of where she's been before Spain is it's own adventure.  And the story of where we've been as friends is inspiring to me, as it highlights love and acceptance in the midst of diversity.  She and I celebrate authenticity in each other, and in a society where we so often default to putting a certain version of ourselves forward in our relationships, it's nice to have a friendship where we don't have to wear make-up.

Paris, FR 2000

I met Sarah the summer off 2000 in Paris, FR. We were the only Americans studying at the SPEOS photographic Institute. Paris was like a second home to Sarah and she knew the city well. I, on the other hand, had never traveled further than Canada (especially by myself). So when we met, she offered to spend a day with me and take me around the city. We started early in the day, and over several hours we shared our stories of where we're from, how we were raised, etc...  We initially were seeing each other's "make-up," both in the sense that these were our origin stories, but also in that these were the initial layers before you get to the real person.  Sarah tells me she's from upstate NY, while I'm from a small town in NC. She's Jewish; I'm Christian. She's a Democrat; I'm Republican. She's well traveled, speaking English, French, and Hebrew. I've rarely left North Carolina and can barely speak proper English!  Needless to say, on this first day of hanging out, we quickly realized that we were SO different, and we were both secretly eager for the day to be over so we could go our different ways. We ended the day over dinner and a bottle of wine. During this time we shared our hearts, our dreams, our outlook on life. We shared with each our true selves, getting past the make-up.  We’ve been the best of friends since.

We are still very different: lifestyles, religions, politics, etc. We don’t judge, we agree to disagree, and we accept each other as we are.  Sarah and I have never lived in the same state, but we've been there for each other through a lot.  We have seen each other at our best and our worst. Through it all, we’ve seen through all the make-up and have loved each other by focusing on each other’s true self.  

Sarah and I always encourage each other to just BE our true selves. That is why I have titled my new art series BE, of which she is the face of.  Our society is so hyper-focused on the superficial make-up that we put on and display that it’s becoming increasingly harder for our true selves to be seen. We need to encourage each other to just BE who we are and love each other where we are at.  That’s what love does: it shows up and lets you BE.  Love sees you in a good light, even if we're all looking through different lenses.

Miami, FL 2010

What if we lived in a society where we didn’t feel judged by our race, our gender, our sexuality, our religion, our political stance, our looks, our life styles, etc.? What if we truly lived in a “free” country to feel free to just BE who we are where are true selves are seen? That’s wishful thinking, I know. However, like Mother Teresa said, 

“We can do no great things; we can only do small things with great love.” 

If we take the time to truly see each other, we are opening our selves up to great relationships with a lot of love.  If we're not ourselves from the start, how do we know that we're truly loved for ourselves?  

I'm thankful for relationships like my friendship with Sarah. A friendship that held each other up through the sorrows of cancer, that stood by each other’s side while we said our wedding vows.  Sarah's the kind of friend that slaps a guy for saying something inappropriate to me (true story!).  This is the kind of friendship that travels across the world for a hug and says that you're loved for BEing you.

Mallorca Spain, 2018

Love is about letting someone be themselves, and Sarah and I have that in our friendship.  I know that it's changed me, and I hope others will get to have something like this.  I've heard people say that we need to think globally and act locally, as well as to be the change we want to see in the world.  Celebrated authenticity, kindness and boldly being ourselves seems like a great change to BE.

Hope on the Streets of Africa

It’s been about 2 weeks since returning home from our winter trip to Ethiopia, and I continue to wonder if I’ll have the words to express my perception of the trip. Since being back home, my mind has been all over the place. I have a desire to follow up on our trip, and this is for me as well as for my team and the people we served in Ethiopia. As I’ve been processing this and seeking words to describe it, I’ve also had to take care of myself. As a trip leader, and a wife, and a mother, it’s so hard to put myself first, but pursuing personal strength and wellness is essential for being able to love well and have strong relationships.

That said, just before leaving Ethiopia to return home, I began prepping for a body scan that would help determine the level of progress after last year’s battle with thyroid cancer, thyroidectomy surgery, and radioiodine treatment to kill remaining cancer cells. Prepping for this scan entails a couple weeks of a strict diet, and a handful of daily doctor visits the last days before the scan. During this time, my eyesight has gotten really bad. I became paranoid that it could be because of thyroid related issues or something serious. After visiting the eye doctor and my thyroid doctor, I realized I’m just getting old. Haha! At the end of last week, I got a pair of prescription glasses that have both made me so much more confident with this new ability to see, as well as just aware at how poorly I could see before.

The day I got new glasses was also the day of my body scan, and after the scan, the initial results seemed to be 98% good. They saw a tiny something on the scan where my thyroid once was, and they want to check it out. They wanted to wait til seeing my bloodwork before they decided what to do next. It’s possible that it’s a recurrence of thyroid cancer. However, the spot is so small that even if it is cancerous, they may not do any surgery or treatment, since thyroid cancer usually remains isolated and is slow growing, if it grows at all. People have asked how I feel about this news, and honestly, I don’t know how I feel. I really just want this chapter of my life to be over, so I can start a new, clean chapter. The reality is that this chapter will never be fully over. Since I had cancer, I’ll be at a higher risk of eventually getting it again, compared to people who have never had cancer. I now have to figure out how to live with this part of my story, with hope that cancer won’t return.

Hope is something that I’ve had a really hard time with over the last couple of years. Just when things are going so well, life throws me for a loop. Although I know that I’ve experienced more joy than pain in my life, when I’m in a painful situation, it’s so easy to focus on the damage being done and forget the blessings that I’ve been given. As I reflect back on my trips to Africa, I think about how different our cultures can be when it comes to facing struggles or being blessed. Our perception of hope is so different. The people we have worked with have been through HELL. When I say “hell,” it’s because I cannot imagine anything worse than what they have been through, not even from stories I’ve heard, or movies I’ve seen. They are left physically scarred, but also emotionally scarred. I’m blown away by how these scars contribute to their beauty. When you meet these people, you see so much joy in their eyes, and you wouldn’t imagine that they’ve been through so much. In some cases, one year of their life seems like it is more pain than we’ll ever experience. And after all this, it’s hard to fathom that the hope that you hear in their words. We have so much to learn about how to be grateful, how to trust God, how to have joy, and how to simply have hope.

Two groups of people in Ethiopia teach me about hope: women that have been rescued from a life of prostitution, and young boys who live on the street. In speaking with the women who had been rescued from prostitution, we learned that the need for money drove them to choose such a life. Over 50% of Ethiopians are unemployed. These women are without work, they’re hungry, their children are hungry, they can’t afford medicine, and so they’re family is often sick and dying because of their conditions. Prostitution is their only hope. They wouldn’t do it if they knew some other way. Then you have the street boys. These teenage, homeless boys have either lost their families to AIDS, or they’ve fled the extreme poverty or dangerously abusive situations at home because it’s better for them on the streets. The streets are their only hope. It’s all they have. Because they’re on the streets, local society shuns them, and they don’t expect to get any encouragement from anyone. What kind of life gets to a place where you choose prostitution or living on the street because there is more hope in that than any other option you know? I’m amazed at these women, and these boys, because while I don’t consider them to have anything that I would call a huge “blessing,” they have hope in the simple fact that they are alive.

I’m spoiled. My life has been mostly blessing, and if something interrupts that, I’ve felt like my life is hopeless and coming to an end. It’s ridiculous. Why am I so blind to hope sometimes? Why do I put such a high price on happiness and feeling like I’m blessed? After all, I’m alive… I get to live. In looking back at my time in Africa, I really do feel like God called me there to get closer to understanding the meaning of hope: to see it, experience it, and believe it. After being faced with this reality in others, this decision to have joy and be hopeful, how do I process my struggles? How do I now feel about my body scan test results? It’s easier to be hopeful, to be thankful with the results and feel grateful for the time that is given to me. I’m blessed with so much, and I have hope for a long, beautiful, healthy life with my family and friends. I have hope that I will be celebrating many more years with my friends in Africa. And I’m excited to share my story of hope with others, including my friends in Africa. I aspire to be as encouraging to them as they have been to me.

So, this is me processing things over the last couple of weeks… I feel like I needed to get past some medical struggles, so that I could then more clearly process my time in Ethiopia. I’ll write another blog soon with details from the trip!

God is good: Is He though?

I’ve been struggling lately with the term "God is good". I’ve said it many times. I had cancer, now I don’t. God is good. My brother was shot and left for dead, but is now alive and well. God is good. My friend was infertile, but just gave birth to two healthy twins. God is good. I have SO many of these stories that we give all the glory to God for. Lately though, I’ve been dealing with a broken heart from a situation that has really been a burden on me since I was a little girl. A situation that is like a bad plague that just keeps surfacing and that seems to never go away. This has left me feeling really depressed and hopeless even though God has revealed himself SO many times. I have asked myself recently, is God REALLY good? If so, why were we put in the situation in the first place? Why didn’t He just save us from all the heartache in the beginning? Just recently I have realized that He did.

I’m a part of a Bible study that is studying John 17. We are taking one verse at a time each week. This week’s verse is John 17:5.

“So now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed.”

This verse reminds me of how we were made perfect in the image of God before we were even conceived and that He has a perfect plan for us. We might get off track from that perfect plan, put He is there to glorify us and to bring us back to His perfect plan. We just have to trust Him and really have a desire to be glorified.

When God brings us out of such hardships He is glorifying us. He is reminding us that life on earth is not perfect, but our home with Him is. Today was such a huge testimony to that.

I have needed to see a special doctor for a while now, but have not pursued it because of the financial stress we have been under due to me having cancer last year. My situation has been unavoidable lately and so I went to the rector of our church Wednesday to see if I can get financial assistance. Father Jerry was very supportive of my situation and wanted to help. He told me to give him a couple of days and he will let me know how the church can help. Today he called me into his office and said he had a miracle story to share with me. He proceeded with some scripture on how God has his angels looking out for us. Last Friday, before I even mentioned anything to Father Jerry about needing help, he had someone come to him that does not know me and Asher, but knows of us, and said they feel led to give “Missy and Asher Wood” a financial gift. Father Jerry didn’t say anything to me Wednesday because the gift was not finalized yet. This morning it was and so Father Jerry called me in to tell me about it. This gift is enough to take care of my bills for my situation as well as all the bills we accrued from the last year of being sick!

So is God REALLY good? I’ll let you decide. J

Love,
Missy

WE ARE GOING TO AFRICA!!!

I want to share with you all what Asher and I have been called to do this summer and invite you to be a part of it. This summer, our family will be traveling to Ethiopia to spend two months working with a ministry called Mocha Club that supports various ministries in Africa. We are going to focus on working with street kids, orphans, and women that have been rescued from prostitution. Already, we know that this adventure is bigger than just the two of us, and we hope you will be a part of this journey.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND...

For the last few years, we've given a little each month to Mocha Club to support their efforts in Africa. In the summer of 2008, I went on a two week trip to Ethiopia with Mocha Club (click here to see pictures and click here watch video), and it was a life-changing experience for me, for Asher, and for many. Since then, we've wondered how we can be more involved. In April of 2009, we hosted a well attended art exhibition in Nashville where we increased awareness and raised support for Mocha Club to help out street kids and orphans in Ethiopia. My photos and our paintings were instrumental in pointing to some of the powerful personalities and stories happening there. Since I went to Ethiopia in 2008, we have prayed that we could do more to both engage these people there, and also to create tangible ways to share with others who they are.

MEANING IN SUFFERING...

As most of you know, last September, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and in the months that followed, I underwent surgery and an arduous treatment of radiation and rounds of medication. The cancer is gone and so much is given to us in its place. This certainly altered our perspective of Africa. Instead of being deterred, we felt strongly that God was creating new meaning in this suffering, showing us the deep wells of love that we have in our community of family, friends, and even strangers. In Revelation 21, God says, “Behold, I am making all things new,” and it seems clear that we don’t grow older every day, but newer. Life is a gift, and it’s an opportunity to love others and to know Jesus, who is Love. So, even through suffering, especially through suffering, we are drawn even more into showing love to these kids in Africa.

WHILE IN AFRICA...

From late June until late July, we plan to build relationships with orphans and groups that work with orphans, primarily in the capital city of Addis Ababa. We will serve with these groups, and ultimately, we hope to find ways to integrate art into the daily activities of these kids.

From July 28 – August 23, 2010, we will be leading about a dozen Americans on a mission trip. We'll visit and serve various Mocha Club projects in the area:

• Women at Risk: This is a project in Nazaret that rescues women from the growing world of prostitution and offers them a 10-month rehabilitation program including social, personal, and spiritual as well as job training. We'll spend time with these women and hear their stories of how this project has changed their lives. We’ll work with them to teach them trades (like knitting and painting and craftwork) so that they can sell their creations and support themselves.

• Ambo School & Street Boys: We’ll travel to another small town in Ethiopia to visit a church that operates a school for 250 children. We'll also visit a second Mocha Club project supporting the large local street boy population. Our team will organize games/activities and further build the relationship with these boys. We’ll be educating them in various subjects, such as English.

OUR FAMILY AND MELISSA...

In the last few months, our lives have been changed through our friendship with Melissa Kohne. Melissa and I met in 2008, when they were on the same team that went to Ethiopia. When I was in the last stages of recovering from her cancer medication, our need for help with the kids intersected wonderfully with Melissa's desire to move to Nashville. She initially moved here in January to help out for a month or two, to allow me to get much needed rest. And now she feels like part of the family. Her servant's heart is inspiring, and her parallel calling to Ethiopia makes all of this seem much more possible and effective.

WHAT WE ARE DOING TO GET THERE...

• April 24^th – I am running the Country Music half marathon and raising support that will go towards our airfare.

• May 20^th – Asher and I are showing paintings in a one-night Dallas exhibition, proceeds to go towards our trip to Africa.

• Asher will be offering half-price portraits between now and June 1^st.

• I will offer to do family photoshoots for a donation: in Nashville during the month of April, and in North Carolina during the first couple weeks of June.

• We are encouraging our supporters of this ministry, our paintings, and photography to share this cause with others and encourage them to pray for us and even join in these different ways of investing into this journey.

BE A PART OF IT...

• More than anything, we need prayer. Some specific prayer needs are listed below.

• We would love to know that you are praying for us, and we would love to keep you informed of what we are doing so that you can pray specifically for our impact in these communities. Please let us know if we can include you on our email newsletter.

• We are relying strongly on the financial support from our families and friends to make this happen. The cost of our two-month trip is $12,000. 47% of this is the cost of airfare. So, any donations you could give would be greatly appreciated. See below for more information about making a donation. Also, feel free to be a part of giving to this trip through supporting my half-marathon, our art show in Dallas, or even signing up to get portraits or a family photo-shoot.

Thank you all for reading this far! I hope that our story is coming through here, and that this letter is neither a novel, nor a table of contents. I hope you get the gist of what we are working on now and where we are headed. We know that we will be changed by this experience. We hope to create change in these kids and in you. And we hope that you will step forward with us in this journey.

Thanks!

Missy

PLEASE PRAY...

- That we will be daily transformed by the Lord and useful in our calling to everyone we encounter in Ethiopia.

- That we will be inspired by the Lord to creatively translate our experience to our communities outside of Ethiopia.

- Safety for me, Asher, Gaia (age 3), Presley (age 1), and our friend Melissa.

- That we will trust in the Lord to provide for us in every way before, during and after this journey.

DONATION INFORMATION...

• If you would like to attend the art show in Dallas, or would like more information about commissioning a portrait, please email Asher at asher9@gmail.com or call him at 615.483.8611.

• If you would like to schedule a family photoshoot with me, please email me at mrs.mawood@gmail.com or call me at 615.390.2120.

• If you would like to make a tax deductible donation directly to the mission trip, you can mail a check or donate online:

· To mail your donation, please make out a check to “African Leadership” in the amount that you would like to donate. Include with it a short giving note that includes our names (Asher & Missy Wood). And mail these to: 963 Missions, Attn: Mocha Club Trips, 10440 N. Central Espy., Suite 122, Dallas, TX 75231.

· To donate online, go online to www.mochaclub.org/africa-trips, click on the icon to ‘Make a Donation' for the Ethiopia One Month Trip, and fill out the next page with the necessary information.